Zidane hails spirit as Real extend lead
MADRID: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said his side used their team spirit to finally break down and beat a resolute Getafe side 1-0 at home on Thursday to inch ever closer to winning their first La Liga title for three years.
The league leaders created scant chances but finally got the goal they craved when captain Sergio Ramos converted a late penalty, sending Real four points clear of title rivals Barcelona with five games left.
“We can be very happy today because we did an incredible job today against a side who caused us loads of problems, but we got the victory because of our team spirit,” Zidane said after his side won their sixth game in a row.
“Me and the players have been suffering a lot because we have had to work so hard in all of these matches. It’s not easy to do what we are doing. You can’t achieve anything without suffering.”
KLOPP EYES GOOD END AFTER CITY THUMPING LONDON:JUERGEN Klopp was adamant results remain important in Liverpool’s closing games after the newly-crowned Premier League champions were humbled 4-0 by Manchester City. The Reds came down to earth with a bump at the Etihad on
Thursday in their first match since securing the title last week.
“If someone said the result didn’t matter for my team, I cannot help them,” Klopp said.
“I am not only looking for results but we want to win football games. So now we make sure we are ready for Aston Villa and the points tally at the end of the season is the result of the results we collect until then.”
MOURINHO SLAMS VAR AFTER SPURS DEFEAT SHEFFIELD:JOSE Mourinho claimed VAR will make fans fall out of love with football after Tottenham were victims of a controversial goal reversal in their 3-1 loss to Sheffield United on Thursday.
“This is the start of everything. I think the referee should always be the man on the pitch and the people in the office should just support and assist,” Mourinho said. “We’re going in a direction that’s really bad for the beautiful game, the game that everybody fell in love with.”
SANE COMPLETES MOVE TO BAYERN FROM CITY BERLIN: Leroy Sane has targeted Champions League glory with Bayern Munich after joining the Bundesliga giants from Manchester City for a fee of around €50 million ($56 million) on Friday on a five-year contract.
“Bayern is a very big club and has big goals; these goals suit me as well,” said Sane. “I want to win as many titles as possible with Bayern, and the Champions League is at the top.”
BUFFON SET TO ADD ANOTHER LANDMARK ROME: Gianluigi Buffon is ready to add another landmark achievement in his career when Juventus face Torino on Saturday, with the former Italy captain set to become Serie A’s alltime record appearance maker.
Italian media report that Buffon will take the field in place of Wojciech Szczesny and set a new league record of 648 appearances—one more than AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini.